I'll never forget the flight doc I had when I was in my fleet squadron maybe 4 or 5 weeks and got a cold. He gave me a bottle of sudafed and said come back in 2-3 days if I was still having a problem. I asked him if I was med-down, and he said, no, his job is to keep me in the air not keep me on the ground. AND he said it was up to me to decide if I could fly or not. Something about "big boy rules."

Well they type us all over here because we end up flying as IRO's (international relief officers) all of the time. Therefore the requirement of being typed in the airplane. I constantly do 11.5 hour days on the 737 flying to central america out of EWR. We call ourselves food and drink critics because we sit in first class during our breaks and watch movies. Rough way to spend your day. But at least I get the flying done and out of the way for the month. Some guys only work 7 days a month here with 90 hours of credit/pay.